Floor mop



J. D. cuR'RlE Dec. 29, 1936.

FLOOR MOP Filed March 7, 1935 u IQ" n A,

' Y TTORNEY$ Patented Dec. 29, 1936 PATENT GFFICE FLOOR MOP James Donald Currie, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada Application March '7, 1935, Serial No. 9,851

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel floor mop of a self-wringing type and it has more specific reference to a structure wherein it is possible for the user to wring the mop without grasping it and twisting it with the hand and without stooping down as is so frequently required with many types with which I am familiar.

Briefly described, the invention is characterized by a handle carrying a frame to which one end of the mop is attached, said handle including means for sliding and turning a special adapter xture to which the other end of the mop is attached, whereby through the instrumentality of this stretching and twisting operation the strands of the fabric mop will be squeezed with suiiicient pressure to wring out the surplus water for surface wiping purposes.

In order to satisfy the requirements of my own conception as well as to provide a structure which will justify adoption and endorsement by the trade, I have selected and coordinated an unusual adaptation of parts forming the specific embodiment of the'invention to be hereinafter specifically described in conjunction with the explanatory drawing.

By way of contrast with similar known forms of mops I feel that I have evolved and produced a structure which is comparatively simple and economical, expeditious and easy to handle, and otherwise well designed and balanced for satisfactory and dependable results.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the drawing and descriptions.

In the accompanying drawing wherein like numerals are employed to designate like elements or parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is an elevatio-nal view of the preferred embodiment of the invention constructed in accordance with my ideas.

Figure 2 is a view like Figure 1 showing the manner in which the mop proper is stretched and twisted for liberating the water for surface wiping purposes.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the plane of the horizontal line 3'-3 of Figure l looking in the direction of the arrows and,

Figure 4 is a detail view on an enlarged scale depicting the swivel joint forming a part of the mechanical wringer means.

Referring now to the drawing by distinguishing reference characters, it will be observed that the handle is indicated by the numeral 1. As here shown it comprises an open ended tube which has the secondary function of serving as a cylinder to accommodate the reciprocatory plunger. The plunger comprises' a somewhat small rod or tube 8 having a head 9 fitting slidably in the cylinder. This head is in effect a bearing to accommodate a rotary jointing element or knob Ill on the inner end of the mop turning screw II. These two heads are joined as shown in Figure 6 and included in this arrangement is an anti-friction race comprising a plurality of rollers I2. That is` to say, the rollers t in the head 9 which serves as a raceway as well as a connecting device between the two heads II and this provides the desired swivel joint connection.

Attached to the bottom of the tubular member 1 is a stationary plate I3 having a rectangular guide slot I4 through which the feed screw II works back and forth. This constitutes the means for converting the reciprocatory motion of the plunger 8 into rotary motion for the adapter xture I5 attached to the lower end of the feed screw II. This is sometimes referred to in the trade as a Horsfal screw. One end of the absorbent twistable mop I6 is attached through the instrumentality of a slot I1 to this slidable and turnable adapter unit I5. The opposite end of the mop is passed through a slot I8 formed in a substantially V-shaped trough member I9 carried by one end of the rectangular frame 20. The frame 20 is attached rigidly to the handle or cylinder 1. The frame is of suicient proportion to allow the mop to be stretched as shown in Figure 2 and the twoparts I5 and I9 come into operation as indicated in Figure 1 when the mop is loose-folded for scrubbing and wiping operation.

In effect the two parts 1 and 8 may be unitarily referred to as the handle. At the same time they may be equally well described as a cylinder and plunger respectively. As a matter of fact, the rotary screw II forming the essential part of the wringer means might be described as a part of the plunger. The frame 20 which is rigid on the handle forms an attaching device for the mop and is especially fashioned to cooperate with the slidable and rotary adapter i5 in serving as a carrier for the mop. Thus when the two parts I5 and I8 are close together as shown in Figures l and 4, the half-sections of the mop are folded on each other to provide the requisite scrubbing means when wet and wiping means when substantially dry. Under ordinary circumstances therefore, the mop is used as shown in Figure 1. When however, it is desired to wring the mop all that is necessary to do is to hold the cylinder 1 in one han'd and catch hold of the plunger rod 8 and pull it upwardly or outwardly as the case may be. This provides the requisite screw turning action for the adapter l5 and at the same time stretches the mop longitudinally within the limits of the frame 20. Due to this stretching and twisting action the moisture is literally squeezed out or liberated.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates Will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawing. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the eld of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a mop of the class described, an elongated handle, an elongated rectangular shaped frame extending from the end of said handle and being disposed in the same plane with the handle, said frame having a lower transverse end portion V-shaped in cross section with its apex out- JAMES DONALD CURRIE. 

